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Dear Customer,
The first in a series of newsletters exploring key ICT International products, this newsletter will cover the MP406 range of Soil Moisture Sensors.
ICT International started in 1979 as a company supplying portable soil moisture measurement instruments (the neutron probe) for irrigation scheduling. This core product range remains, but decision making for irrigation is now supported through a wide range of sensors and instruments, measuring and monitoring the soil, plant and surrounding environment. Many of these sensors and instruments are now integrated through the Internet of Things (IoT).
Dr Peter Cull
Founder and Director
Exploring the MP406 Range of Soil Moisture Sensors
The MP406 is a robust and reliable volumetric soil water content sensor, the sensor has been in use by scientists and engineers since 1996, and is commonly used in long term monitoring projects. The use of standing wave technology ensures that the soil moisture measurements are not affected by soil temperature or salinity, and when calibrated to the specific soil type, accuracy can be within 1%.
The versatile family of MP406 sensors has several variations including the SNiP-MP4, the MPKit, and the MP406-C (4-20mA).
The SNiP-MP4 is an Internet of Things connected soil moisture measurement and monitoring solution.
The MPKit is the portable, handheld soil moisture measurement tool for volumetric soil moisture content. This has Bluetooth connection to an Android phone to record and store the measurement and location. This data can be imported into GIS tools, such as ArcGIS, QGIS or Google Earth.
An accurate, long term soil moisture measurement and monitoring system, the SNiP-MP4 uses the MP406 sensor to measure soil moisture and an MFR-NODE for data transmission. Data is transmitted using LoRaWAN or CAT-M1/LTE-M/NB-IoT. This allows communication of real-time, accurate, soil moisture measurements.
The SNiP-MP4 is ideal for integration into a decision-making system that combines several plant, soil or environmental parameters. The MFR-NODE can support the MP406 and additional analogue, digital or SDI-12 sensors. Applications where this is used include irrigation monitoring for agriculture and horticulture, or research that requires repeated, frequent measurements of soil moisture and parameters affecting plant water use.
A handheld, portable, soil moisture measurement system, the MPKit provides high quality and accurate data. The MPKit is a user-friendly tool, connecting the MP406 sensor to an Android phone (included) using Bluetooth. Ideal for taking multiple soil moisture measurements, the MPKit is widely used. Commercial applications include irrigation monitoring of sports turf, seedbed moisture content at time of planting, and moisture control of concrete batch mixes. Research applications are wide and varied, from frog ecology to soil carbon testing
The MPKit displays and records the volumetric soil moisture content, and GPS location.
Research Applications
ICT International gets great satisfaction from helping customers solve their measurement problem. This is reflected in the diversity of research that uses ICT International sensors and instruments.
Recently we have been reading research that used the ICT International MPKit, and this highlights the versatility of the MPKit.
The MPKit is often used in research that requires soil moisture measurement at multiple sample sites. The MPKit has been used by scientists from many disciplines for many years. This is reflected in the diverse range of research questions that the MPKit has been used to address.
1. O’Brien, D. M., Silla, A. J., & Byrne, P. G. (2020).
Nest site selection in a terrestrial breeding frog: Interrelationships between nest moisture, pH and male advertisement. Animal Behaviour, 169, 57–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.08.023
This study measured the soil moisture content in-situ; the MPKit is an ideal tool for this due to the portability and instant measurements.
2. Holley, J. M., & Andrew, N. R. (2019). Experimental warming alters the relative survival and emigration of two dung beetle species from an Australian dung pat community. Austral Ecology, 44(5), 800–811. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12750
Measuring the moisture content of the soils surrounding the dung pats, the MPKit was used to confirm the moisture content of the sand within the experimental chamber. This research is part of a series of papers by Holley and Andrew.
3. Lucke, T., & Nichols, P. W. B. (2015). The pollution removal and stormwater reduction performance of street-side bioretention basins after ten years in operation. Science of The Total Environment, 536, 784–792. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.142
In an urban environment, the control of stormwater run off into the drainage system is crucial; the use of bioretention basins is one approach that can be taken to reduce pollutants. The MPKit was used to measure the top layers of the bioretention basins.
Further research papers using the MPKit are available here, whilst the research papers using the MP406 Soil Moisture Probe can be found here.
For more information please contact ICT International: sales@ictinternational.com.au
For more information on the ICT International range of IoT sensors and solutions, please contact ICT International: sales@ictinternational.com.au
